The life insurance industry will grow at over 25 per cent this year, according to the Insurance Association of Viet Nam.

Its acting chairman, Tran Vinh Duc, said, “The Vietnamese economy is expected to grow at a rate of between 6.8 per cent and 7 per cent in 2019.

“Demand for insurance, particularly life insurance, will increase as more and more people and organisations started caring about insurance products. Thus, the market will keep growing.”

In a report released on Wednesday the association said last year the life insurance market performed well earning revenues of nearly VND116 trillion (US$5 billion).

Of this, VND88 trillion ($3.8 million) was from premium income, an increase of 33 per cent, and the remaining VND28 trillion ($1.2 million) was from proprietary investment, a 30 per cent rise, the association said.

“Life insurers’ financial capacity improved with total assets rising 25 per cent to VND302 trillion [$13.2 billion]” Duc said.

The total provision made last year by companies was nearly VND220 trillion ($9.6 billion), up 30 per cent, he said.

Life insurers settled claims of more than VND18.6 trillion ($815 million) in 2018, up 17 per cent, he said.

The industry is making a great contribution to the economy, supplementing long-term investment in the economy last year by VND276 trillion ($12.1 billion), a 33 per cent increase.

At a ceremony to mark the 25^th Viet Nam Insurance Day and 19^th anniversary of the Insurance Association of Viet Nam (IAV) in Ha Noi last month, Deputy Minister of Finance Huynh Quang Hai stressed the need to raise public awareness of insurance, improve the industry’s financial capability and develop new insurance products.

He called on the IAV and the Ministry of Finance to help draft an Insurance Business Law. – VNS